Thursday, June 30, 2005

Personal - Cricket Nostalgia

Sachin was my Hero in school and college and still is, and I wish for his bat to re-create the magic of the 90s, once again. Good luck, Sachin.

My favourite cricketing shot of Sachin is the straight drive played off the back foot against a left-arm fast bowler bowling over the wicket.

Visualize this...Wasim Akram in to bowl (Feb. 1999 Chennai test) in the cauldron of Chidambaram stadium, the roar of the crowd reaches a crescendo of Saaaachinnnn... Saaaachinnnnn...as Wasim Akram starts his run-up to the bowling crease, zips past the umpire, and sends down a perfect outswinging delivery that pitches on the middle and moves toward the off. Sachin goes on the back foot, covers the line of the ball, the bat goes up ever so gentle and then with a low backlift swings to meet the ball seam-up, the meat of the willow taps the ball, it edges past the outstretched fingers of Wasim, brushes past the umpire and races toward the boundary, the mid-off and mid-on players giving up the futile chase half-way through.Magic! Sachin's straight drive.

In school, life meant cricket and studies in that order.

- 7 to 8:45 am cricket practice. - 9 am to 3:35 pm attend classes in school. - 4 to 5:30 pm cricket practice.Either in the mornings or in the evenings.- 6:30 to 7 pm play cricket with friends in society- Study in the evenings

Go to school. Play cricket. Study. Play cricket. Study. Same routine the next day. Play cricket matches on Saturdays and Sundays. It was simple, maan.

I strongly feel that schools should ban cellphones. 13, 14-year-old school children don't need an 'electronic leech' to stick to them in classes.

I had this thought after I saw my neighbour's 5-year-old kid, studying in the first standard - class I, playing with a toy cellphone. Technology is good, but kids flaunting stuff because of peer pressure, as everyone does so, is wrong and I'd blame their parents for that.